


A 'little' disaster

by Kireeeshima



Category: One Piece
Genre: Akagami!Luffy, Gen, Kid!Luffy, Luffy Being Luffy, Luffy Is a Little Shit, Luffy you little shit, Mother Shanks and Papa Benn, NOT A SHIP FIC NOTICE THE & OK?! OK?!?!, Well that's basically what they are tbh, younger Luffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-08-09 19:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kireeeshima/pseuds/Kireeeshima
Summary: "What? Anchor can't even come to see us off?" Shanks says with a snort, although some disappointment is evident in his easy going voice."I'm sorry, he seemed really down knowing you were leaving. He disappeared awhile ago, I have no clue where he's hiding..." Makino replied sadly, her hand gently placed on her cheek as she sighed out with obvious worry."Daha! Threw a fit and ran off, huh? He really is a brat!" Nobody notices the one in many barrels making a thud at that. The rest of the crew laughs with Shanks until one crewmate reports that everything is done and they're ready to depart at any minutes notice."Well, we've stayed here for quite some time, and it was definitely worth the while!! We'll get outta your hair now, send my regards to Luffy!" Shanks yells down at Makino who gladly agrees."Then... SET SAIL!!!" Shanks' men boom in cheers as the sail drops, and the boat begins to leave the island with the whole crew waving goodbye...."CAP'N!! LUFFY IS INSIDE ONE OF THE BARRELS ONBOARD!!!!!""WHAT?!?!?!"





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Originally going to be a real long one shot but ended up just making this a ongoing fic as always

“Shanks is… leaving today…” Luffy mumbled to himself as he kicked a small pebble and watched it skid across the dirt with a frown. No, Luffy was not sulking. Definitely not! He's a man, he's not sulking over the fact Shanks is leaving much sooner than he'd like- he means Shanks can leave whenever for all he cares! … ok not really but he's not a kid so he's not sulking! He's not… ok so maybe he is… Shanks would definitely laugh at him right now… 

Luffy gasps loudly. 

He got it! Shanks can't laugh at him if he becomes cool and strong like him! Right? Yeah! So… he just needs to become strong! How do you get stronger? Oh! Of course! Training!! 

“Let's see… I need someone strong to help me, right? Someone strong…” _Gramps_ a voice rings in his head. Luffy immediately paled and shook his head quick as lightning. No. Nononononono N.O! DEFINITELY NOT! No more of that horrible 'training’ of his! Plus Gramps wants him to be a Marine… and he's definitely not being one. He's gonna be a super cool pirate like Shanks! Like… like………

“SHANKS!! THAT'S IT!!!” Luffy exclaims loudly, scaring multiple birds and making them fly away. How did he not think of it sooner? It was such a smart idea! Of course it was! He was smart! … ok well uh- it was a smart idea! Definitely! 

Luffy threw his arms up in triumph with a cheeky grin plastered on his face, a mischievous snicker sounding out soon after. 

 

….

 

…

 

..

 

..

 

..

 

..

 

"What? Anchor can't even come to see us off?" Shanks says with a snort, although some disappointment is evident in his easy going voice.

"I'm sorry, he seemed really down knowing you were leaving. He disappeared awhile ago, I have no clue where he's hiding..." Makino replied sadly, her hand gently placed on her cheek as she sighed out with obvious worry.

"Daha! Threw a fit and ran off, huh? He really is a brat!" Nobody notices the one in many barrels making a thud at that. The rest of the crew laughs with Shanks until one crewmate reports that everything is done and they're ready to depart at any minutes notice.

"Well, we've stayed here for quite some time, and it was definitely worth the while!! We'll get outta your hair now, send my regards to Luffy!" Shanks yells down at Makino who gladly agrees. Although... She still wonders where Luffy went. He wasn't at any of his usual hiding spots and not even walking around town with meat brought him out.

"Then... SET SAIL!!!" Shanks' men boom in cheers as the sail drops, and the boat begins to leave the island with the whole crew waving goodbye.

 

...

...

 

..

 

..

 

. 

 

A nameless lackey yawns as they walk around the dark deck at night. So annoying… cleaning duty? Like the captain really cares if the ship is clean or not… the lackey knows he can never tell that to Benn's face though. As he rounds a corner, he hears the loud sound of wood, like something wooden that was quickly closed. Someone trying to steal some food at night? They rose a brow and examined a stack of crates and some barrels lined up. No one is here… 

“Oiiiii, anyone there?” He calls out and- did that barrel just _jump?_ Did he drink anything today? He can't recall doing so but barrels don't… jump. Or maybe some animal got stuck in there somehow. A rat, maybe? That'd be troublesome… a rat eating their provisions. He slowly walked over to the barrel that seemed to tremble with every nearing step, if that was possible but apparently it is. He reached out, grab the top, and lifted it off-- only to freeze on the spot. 

Inside, there was a small boy, sweating enough to fill the barrel itself, mouth stuffed full with fruits that should be in there and not him. The small boy made a loud gulp, inhumanly swallowing all the fruit whole without choking… did he just swallow some apples too?? And… wait… that scar… 

“... Yo.” The boy gave a stiff wave.

"CAP'N!! LUFFY IS INSIDE ONE OF THE BARRELS ONBOARD!!!!!" The lackey hollered at the top of his lungs, cupping his hands around his mouth for good measure. Luffy's face turned deathly pale, almost as much as when Garp suddenly appears. A few dead silent seconds pass before ungraceful and rushed footsteps sound closer and closer until a red haired man comes running in from around the corner,

"WHAT?!?!?!" He spluttered, impossibly messy bed hair with his shirt unbuttoned, most likely roused from his sleep. 

“I… I'm a barrel spirit.” Luffy looks away and whistles as he spouts that horrible lie. 

In sync, the lackey and Shanks both turn to Luffy who seemed to be trying to fuse with the barrel and screamed, “LIKE HELL WE'LL BELIEVE THAT!!!!”

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

..

 

.

 

.

 

“So? What do you have to say for yourself, Luffy?” Shanks asks with a lecturing stare. Luffy, being held up by his shirt collar as if he were a kitten of sorts, looks off.

“Dunno what you mean.” He whistles, earning a whack that somehow sorta hurt. Huh. Thought he doesn't feel pain now that he's rubber. What a mystery.

“Liar. Why did you sneak into our ship?” Shanks asks, then asks himself ‘and why the hell didn't I sense him?’ Maybe he got to carried away with the merry mood onboard or that Luffy is simply too weak for him to sense unless he actually tries to… 

“Cuz…” Luffy trails off.

“Because why?” Shanks doesn't drop his scolding mom voice. 

“Cuz I wanted to be a pirate…” He mumbles quietly, but loud enough for Shanks and many others to hear. Shanks lets out a long sigh and Luffy finches. 

“I-I know being a pirate can be dangerous! And that it's not all fun and games like how I thought before! I know stuff like…” Luffy gestures to Shanks’ lost arm, “...that, can happen at any time- but! I really wanna be cool and strong like you so…” He never quite finishes. Shanks wants to be mad, he really does. He wants to scold and get after Luffy for doing something so stupid! But-- that face looks like a kicked puppy and Shanks feels like the worst asshole on the planet. Ok, bit of a dramatization there but he _did_ feel a little bad. A little. But he can't take Luffy, he's too young and it's too dangerous. Still not letting go of Luffy, Shanks turns to one of his men. 

“Turn the ship around, we're bringing Luffy back.” Shanks sighs out. One of the lackey's nod. 

“Yes-” 

“NO!!” Luffy screams so loud that most of the crewmembers cover their ears, even Shanks flinches in surprise.

“Luffy-” Shanks tries to say but gets cut off by Luffy's violent thrashing. 

“If… if you return me back, I'll… I'll uh…” Luffy furrows his brows and stopped throwing a fit to attempt to think up of a threat. Shanks raises a brow and brings Luffy up more to eye level,

“Ho? You'll do what?” Shanks sneers at Luffy's pathetic display. 

“I'll… I'LL TELL GRAMPS!” Luffy yells. 

 

Dead silence. 

 

Then laughter- no- full on roaring. Shanks was doing more than cackling, there were literal tears in his eyes as he gasped for air. Knee slapping and people falling down while punching the floor through their laughter sounded from the rest of the crew, and even the usually composed and ‘cool’ ones were chuckling at the scene before them. Luffy turned beet red and puffed out his cheeks in anger,

“DON'T LAUGH!! GRAMPS IS REALLY STRONG!! HE CAN BEAT ALL OF YOU UP!!!!” Luffy continued his previous thrashing. The laughter only got _louder._ So so so much louder. Everyone looked like they were about to kick the bucket from lack of air at this point. Because really? Really? Luffy sounded like those little kids who's toy gets stolen and they start crying saying they're gonna tell their mom. And, seriously? Seriously Luffy? Your _Gramps?_ They all pictured some old guy with a cane trying to hit them. What a riot. They don't remember ever meeting or even seeing Luffy's grandpa though…

“So,” Shanks manages to say through his wheezing, “your Grandpa is strong, huh?” He laughed so much he could feel his knees weak, he's honestly surprised he hasn't dropped Luffy yet. 

“That's right!” Luffy huffs, insulted that everyone is laughing at him, “He's a Marine. And he wants me to be a Marine, not that I want to be one. But if I tell him that you inspired me to be a pirate more… he'll beat you up!” _I think._ Luffy doesn't say out loud. 

Now that, that is certainly interesting. Shanks thinks it would be hilarious seeing some old no name marine guy from East Blue try to arrest him, only to fail. “So, what's the name of this Marine grandpa of yours?” Shanks snorts. 

“Hn? Gramps' name? Garp, why?” Luffy is immediately dropped and all laughing ceases. Luffy blinks and looks up with a confused look at Shanks who seems to be struggling how to remember how a jaw works. 

“What did you just say his name was?” Shanks manages to get out after a few seconds. Luffy frowns and crosses his arms, what's up with everyone?

“Garp.” Luffy scrunches his eyebrows.

 

Silence.

 

“Luffy, what's your full name?” Shanks asks with unease dripping from it, other crewmembers swallowing in fear of the answer. 

“What? What's with all of you? What's with all the annoying questions? It's Monkey D. Luffy, what about it?” A faceless lackey screeches in the background. Meanwhile, Shanks’ jaw is quite literally fallen on the deck as he simply blinks because that's all he can currently remember how to do. 

 

Garp. The Marine hero Garp. The only Marine who could fight neck and neck with Captain Roger. One of the very few Captain Roger saw as an equal in strength and someone to look forward to fighting. The one who nearly destroyed the Oro Jackson more than once with just his fists. The one that-

“Luffy. What is your Grandpa like?” Shanks stares Luffy down. 

“Huh? Uh… his fists hurt. He calls it his fists of love. But they really hurt. Really. He always throws me into forests or down bottomless trenches, or makes me fight wild animals in order to ‘make me a strong Marine’. When I say I don't wanna be a Marine he'll hit me a lot.” 

_Yup. Definitely Garp._ Shanks swallows. He contemplates for awhile. On one hand, he needs to take Luffy back. On the other hand, he really really really really does _not_ want Garp to come storming after him because of Luffy. Can he bribe Luffy? At least enough to keep his mouth shut until they're not… anywhere near Garp? Maybe he should just take Luffy… or would Garp actually go after him claiming he kidnapped his grandson? Shanks takes a deep inhale, turns to his first mate, Benn, and sends a look, 

 

‘What the actual fuck do I do?’ his eyes scream. 

 

Benn himself sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose before saying, “Welcome aboard, Luffy.” Luffy beamed and Shanks’ eyes popped out.

“YAY!!!”

“WHAT?!”


	2. Cabin boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benn learns a few things about how things work when Luffy is involved. Better to learn now at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SO I TOTALLY DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT THIS... Ok I did. BUT I remembered so hey! I also found my notes and a prewritten chapter (that for some reason was further ahead in the plot. Why can I never prewrite chapters in order?). I also prewrote some other stuff for this as well. Oh, and the first chapter had a lot of misspells and grammar mistakes and I'll fix that later (probably)

“Welcome aboard, Luffy.” Benn sighs out. Luffy cheers and Shanks screams.

“YAY!”  
“WHAT?!”

“Yay!! Yay!! I get to sail with Shanks!!” Luffy begins running around the deck excitedly. Shanks however, runs up to Benn and grabs his shoulders. 

“Wait wait wait wait wait! _I'm_ the captain, why are you deciding that?!” Shanks tried to shake him but Benn placed a single hand on Shanks’ shoulder to stop him. He also blew a small puff of cigarette smoke in his captains face. 

“You're the one who asked me what to do, _captain_.” Benn replied as Shanks had a coughing fit. 

“But! We can't take Luffy with us! We're going back to the Grand L-” 

“Calm down, I wasn't serious.” Benn cut Shanks sure to have been babbling and glanced at Luffy who was still running around cheering a bit further away from them. “It's simple, really. We just turn the ship around without telling Luffy, then drop him off in Foosha.” Shanks lit up and began slapping Benn's back. 

“I see I see! As expected of you!” Benn sighed out as Shanks continued hitting him with much more force than he'd like. It was a simple plan, something someone with any kind of IQ could think of. Luffy was easy to trick as well, so everything should go according to plan.

 

~~Benn would soon learn that nothing goes according to plan when it involves Luffy.~~

~x~

  

Turning the boat around was easy. Seriously making Luffy believe that he was part of the crew on the way back was also easy. The hard part was getting Luffy to let go of the mast when his rubber arms were wrapped around it god knows how many times. Majority of the crew was busy trying to pull the rubber boy off of it despite his many cries of protest. Even Shanks gave it a try- but they just ended up hearing a rather dangerous creaking sound from the mast and feared they would only break the _mast_ free rather than Luffy himself. Why was Luffy doing this in the first place you ask? Well, that’s because apparently Luffy had a homing instinct like some sort of animal and while they were heading back to Foosha, Luffy looked out into the sea and said “I feel like we’re going back?”. At first, everyone managed to convince him otherwise. But at some point during the night, Luffy found out that that was a lie somehow and when nobody was watching (thinking the young boy was asleep as he should be), nobody knows how, but, he managed to wrap himself around a mast more times than humanly possible thanks to that devil fruit of his. 

They’ve tried all sorts of tricks. Lying, bribing, distractions, somehow not a single one worked. Not to mention, it was the dead of night and everyone was tired and simply wanted to sleep. They didn’t want to waste precious hours trying to get a 7 year old stubborn boy off of their mast. Just when Benn thought things couldn’t get possibly get any worse, he found out for the first time that things can _always_ get worse when it involves Luffy. A crewmate came running up with a Den Den Mushi and a panicked expression. 

“I-It’s terrible, sir!” He spluttered. Sighing, Benn rubbed the bridge of his nose and contemplated asking what it was or not. Unfortunately, he had to. 

“What is it?” 

“I wiretapped a Marine call and- Garp the Fist is apparently returning to the East Blue!” Of course he was. Shanks, who was standing beside Benn, let out a rather unmanly screech. Benn couldn’t blame him though, Garp the Fist wasn’t anything to laugh about. 

“What?! Gramps is coming back?! No way!!” Luffy yelped and seemed to latch himself onto the mast impossibly more. Benn went over their current situation and what he knew so far. First off, they’ve been in the same area of East Blue for almost a whole year, so it wouldn’t be too hard for someone to find them if they were really trying to. Second, they got Garp’s _grandson_ on their ship, whether that was planned or not. If they waste more time trying to sail back to Foosha to drop Luffy off and he blabs about them, Garp will probably come after them and there will be no escape. If they’re in the Grand Line they can probably hide better with all the unmapped islands and all. East Blue? Everything spreads here. East Blue is a great place to hide and lay low at, _if you’re actually laying low_. But things that are even somewhat out of the norm spreads like wildfire. It’ll be hard to run from Garp the Fist here. Their only option? Quickly turn back around and head for the Grand Line like their original plan. They hadn’t wasted too much time turning back to Foosha village, maybe 2 hours top. They were already almost halfway to Twin Cape before turning around because of the Luffy incident. 

 

But that option means bringing Luffy with them.

 

And they can’t just throw Luffy out on some random island, he’s a young boy and not to mention weak. Especially not in somewhere as dangerous as the Grand Line (not that the East Blue would be a better option in the current situation). Taking a deep breath, Benn grabs his panicking captain-- who looked just about ready to run around like a headless chicken-- and drags him off out of Luffy’s range of hearing. When Shanks looked at him with hope-filled eyes as if he were about to rain down upon a plan like a God or angel descending down with open arms and promises of salvation, Benn simply sighed and gave it to him straight. 

“We have to take Luffy into the crew.” 

“whA-” Benn slaps a hand over his captain's mouth before Luffy got suspicious or heard them. 

“There’s no choice. It’s either that or Garp the Fist comes and sinks us all.” Shanks visibly gulped, good. He's understanding the situation. But just for good measures, Benn adds, “And you don’t want to just ditch Luffy at some random island, do you?” Shanks’ expression then turned serious. 

“See?” Benn removed his hand seeing as Shanks wasn’t going to scream his lungs out anymore.

“... But being a pirate is too dangerous. Sure I was on a crew myself when I was 12 but I was just a-” 

“Cabin boy, yes. And that’s exactly what Luffy is going to be.” Benn replied. Shanks bit his lips and glanced at Luffy who was still latched onto the mast.

“Luffy would never agree to be something like a cabin boy, he’s too stubborn.” 

“Normally, you would be right. But he respects you and looks up to you for what a pirate _should_ be like. So just explain it as if you absolutely cannot be a pirate unless you’re a cabin boy first. Like it’s the ultimate requirement or something. Then we just gradually train Luffy until he won’t end up dying the second he gets into a battle during that time.” Benn explained, watching Shanks take in the information thoughtfully. After a few moments, Shanks grinned and nodded. 

“Alright, I’ll try to do the talking. I’ll trust your judgment and follow through with the plan.” With that, Shanks turned heel and went up to Luffy with his trademark grin.

“Ok Luffy, congrats! Welcome to the crew! For real this time!” Luffy lit up and after some struggle, he freed himself from the mast and ran up to Shanks bouncing up and down.

“Really?! Really really?!” Through Luffy’s excitement, Shanks grinned mischievously.

“Don’t you get too excited now, you’re going to be a cabin boy!” Luffy blinked and cocked his head to the side, obviously confused by the term.

“Wussat?” He asked. 

“A cabin boy doesn’t get to do things like join battles or raids. They scrub the deck, do the laundry and dishes… basically all the chores!” At Shanks’ explanation, Luffy’s face fell drastically. 

“Ehhhh?! I don’t want to be something so lame!!” He protested.

“Ah ah ah, one can’t become a pirate before being a cabin boy first. It’s a crucial and very necessary step to becoming a _true_ pirate. I was also a cabin boy once you know?” Luffy visibly perked up at this.

“You were?” 

“Yup! I told you, it’s a necessary step to become a pirate, didn’t I? There are other cabin boys on the ship as well because they’re also on their way to becoming a pirate!” 

“... But chores sounds so _boring._ ” Luffy practically groaned out the last part, a large frown on his face. Shanks however, nearly grinned as he thought up of his next step of action. He spoke in a very carefree voice at first,

“Well, you could always slack off or not do them… but if you do...” Shanks lowered his voice several octaves for a more dramatic and scary effect, “you'll have to walk the plank! And then you'll drown, and die! Never to become a pirate!” 

“WHAT?!” Luffy screamed, face pale. Now Shanks really did smirk, unable to hide his amusement anymore. But he still kept up the act, and it seemed like his smirk only further frightened Luffy.

“That's right! If cabin boys can't do their jobs, they're deemed unable to ever become a pirate! Ever! So they toss em overboard and watch as they drown, slowly sinking and dying… never reaching their goal of piracy as their life is ruthlessly ended!” He adds unnecessary vibrato just to scare the poor child, making weird squiggly movements with his fingers as he loomed over Luffy. 

 

“H-Have you ever almost been thrown overboard..?” Luffy stutters, looking up at Shanks fearfully. Shanks’ expression immediately fell. He thought of all the times Rayleigh whacked him and Buggy across the head for all their bickering. He thought of all the threats of being thrown overboard along with Buggy from Rayleigh. He thought of all the times they were _actually_ thrown overboard by Rayleigh. And then with the most empty- the most _dead_ \- smile unlike any other, he says,

“Yeah.”

You could almost feel the cold heavy air that breezed by. 

“W-well… I don’t wanna be a cabin boy! So I’ll just become a pirate _without_ being a cabin boy first!” 

“You’re free to attempt to do so, just not on our ship.” Benn chimed in as he joined the conversation, “We don’t need those who can’t carry their own weight. And right now, you’re of no use.” A bit of a harsh choice of words for a child, but there was no other choice. Luffy however, did not take being called useless too kindly. Not that that was a surprise, really.

“Oi! I’m not useless! I’m strong, I can fight!!” Luffy protested angrily, clenching his hands into fists. Benn took a long drag of his cigarette and puffed it out while staring the boy down. Then said,

“No, you can’t. You’re weak.” 

“What?!” Luffy began snarling, a low growl in his throat. Benn watched him, eyes lidded and unamused. Too weak to fight, too easy to provoke. 

 

Too easy to kill.

 

“How ‘bout this,” Benn gripped the large shotgun on his hip, “we fight, right now, and if you can land a single hit on me, you win. The same goes for me, if I land a single hit on you, I win. If you win you don’t have to be a cabin boy.” Benn could feel Shanks staring at him in complete confusion but ignored it. It seemed like Shanks understood he had a plan of sorts and decided to let him do it. 

“What? Really?” Luffy looked up at Benn who nodded. Immediately, he grinned. “Yosh!” With that, Luffy charged straight at Benn. Arm curved back, fists clenched tight, and wide open. The moment Luffy got in his range, Benn pulled out the shotgun and hit him across the head with the stock of the gun. Luffy got sent flying and slammed painfully against the very mast he was attached to the entire night. He slowly slid down and fell to the floor. 

“D-Dammit..!” Luffy coughed out, looking up only to see Benn’s gun pointed to his head. 

“I win.” He said, making Luffy gulp and tremble, frozen on spot. 

“O-One more time!!” 

“Nope, you lost. You’re a cabin boy now.” Luffy deflated and looked down and sulked, making Benn smirk. 

“But I'll tell you what,” He started, putting his shotgun back on his hip, “once a day, you can challenge me to a fight, same rules as before. And if you win any of those times, you’re free from being a cabin boy.” Luffy lit up, but before he could say anything, Shanks cut in. 

“But for now, that’s what you are. And you got a busy day of work ahead tomorrow so…” He scooped Luffy up by the collar of his shirt like a kitten and grinned, “off to sleep you go.” 

“Alright.” Luffy conked out immediately, making Shanks’ jaw drop.

 

“So fast-!! And while being held like this?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question, would ya'll want minor Benn/Shanks? Not exactly a relationship but kinda like,,, hey Benn we're parents no homo tho. I ain't a hardcore shipper for any Shanks ship, but I can go for most of em. Would ya'll rather I keep it shipless or add that in as kinda a joke thing? Just asking so I know what to do with this fic! Idm either way


End file.
